Zips Ready for Fourth Annual Northeast Ohio Coaches vs Cancer Doubleheader

Saturday, November 10

Cleveland, OH

4:30 pm

University of Akron

Youngstown State

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Zips Ready for Fourth Annual Northeast Ohio Coaches vs Cancer Doubleheader

November 09 | Men's Basketball

Northeast Ohio Coaches vs Cancer Doubleheader
Game 2 • Akron Zips (1-0) Mid-American vs. Youngstown State (0-1) Horizon League
Saturday, Nov. 10 • Wolstein Center • Cleveland, Ohio • 4:30 PM ET • ESPN3

Youngstown State Head Coach
Jerrod Calhoun (Cincinnati '04)
Overall: 132-62 (7th season)
Record at Akron: 8-25 (2nd season)
Horizon Record: 6-12 (11th season)

AKRON ZIPS Head Coach
John Groce (Taylor '94)
Career Record: 195-149 (11th Season)
Record at Akron: 15-18 (2nd Season)
MAC Record at Akron: 6-12 (2nd Season)
Overall MAC Record: 40-42 (at Ohio and Akron)

All-Time Series
Akron leads series, 57-32 - Groce's first meeting against YSU: 0-0
Last Meeting: Youngstown State 90, Akron 82 - Beeghly Center, Nov. 12, 2017
In Akron: 35-9 - In Youngstown: 23-22

Broadcast
TV/Video: ESPN3 – Al Pawlowski (PxP) and Pat Vuyancih (Analyst)
Live Stats: GoZips.com/Schedule - Live Stats
Radio: Akron-IMG Sports Network - Steve French (PxP) and Joe Dunn (Analyst) WARF 1350 AM (flagship), iHeart Radio, TuneIn.com/Akron Zips

What's Ahead
The Akron men's basketball program continues its 118th season of hoops with the fourth annual Northeast Ohio Coaches vs Cancer Doubleheader on Saturday, Nov. 10, at the Wolstein Center hosted by Cleveland State. The action begins with Akron playing Youngstown State at 4:30 p.m. Second year head coach John Groce leads the Akron basketball program into battle with a newly assembled cast. Groce led the Zips to a win in the season debut as the Zips defeated Cedarville 70-50 at the JAR.

The Northeast Ohio Coaches vs. Cancer Doubleheader is scheduled to air on ESPN3 as Al Pawlowski will call the action and Pat Vuyancih provides analysis. Fans can also follow the action on GoZips.com via Live Stats or by Zips' radio. The Zips' radio broadcast will air on the Akron-IMG Sports Network SportsRadio 1350 AM (WARF) in Akron (flagship) with Steve French calling the action and Joe Dunn providing analysis. The pregame show starts 30 minutes prior to the contest. The free audio stream is available at SportsRadio1350.com, iHeart Radio, and TuneIn.com/Akron Zips.

The Akron-Youngstown State Series
Saturday's matchup marks the 89th meeting in series history between Akron and Youngstown State, and first-ever for a Groce coached squad. Akron holds a 57-32 all-time series advantage that started during the 1937-38 season -- the Zips claimed the first meeting 23-16. In Youngstown, the Penguins hold a slight edge with a 23-22 record, while in Akron the Zips established a healthy 35-9 edge. Akron are winners in six of the last seven meetings. The two teams last met on Nov. 12, 2017 at the Beeghly Center, where YSU recorded an 90-82 victory.

Scouting the Penguins
Dropped their season opener on the road against PITT, 69-53. The Penguins attempted half of their shots from beyond the 3-point arc (8-of-38) while only shooting 21-percent from deep. From the floor YSU was 18-of-67 (.269).

The Penguins had nine players touch the scoring column with only one player reaching double figures as Kendale Hampton collected 15 points. He buried four of his 10 3-point attempts and attempted only one shot from 2-point range, 4-of-11 overall. Hampton added four rebounds and a steal. Michael Akuchie followed with nine points and four rebounds. Naz Bohannon led YSU on the glass, pulling down 10 rebounds and adding three points.

Defensively, Youngstown limited its opponent to scoring 69 points on 49.1 percent shooting from the field and 18.2 percent from downtown with two made 3-pt FGs. The Penguins caused 16 turnovers (16 tpg) while collecting nine steals (9 stl/g) and six blocked shots (6 blk/g). On the glass, YSU was tied 44-44 for an even +0.0 margin.

Olojakpoke Returns to Action
After having his 2017-18 campaign cut short due to season ending heart surgery, junior frontcourt specialist Emmanuel Olojakpoke returned to action. EMan played 13 minutes in Akron's season opener, scoring two points while causing havoc in the paint. Olojakpoke grabbed four rebounds, blocked two shots and had one steal.

Senior Leader Opens Season with a Double-Double
Senior guard/wing Jimond Ivey started the season off right by recording a double-double in Akron's first appearance of the season. Ivey scored 12 points and grabbed 11 rebounds. He lead the Zips on the glass, pulling down 10 defensive rebounds and grabbing one offensive board. From the floor, Ivey used a 4-of-6 performance from the floor and a 4-of-6 showing from the free throw line for the 12 points.

Banks Leads Zips in Division I Debut
Junior college transfer Channel Banks (Las Vegas, Nev.) buried 4-of-6 attempts from beyond the 3-point arc in Akron's season/home opener against Cedarville. He led the squad in scoring with 15 points while shooting 67-percent from downtown and an overall 71.4 percent (5-of-7) showing from the floor.

Loren Cristian Jackson Did Not Miss a Beat
Transfer guard Loren Cristian Jackson didn't show any signs of rust as sophomore transfer from Long Beach State led the Zips offense and was second in scoring in the opener. He tallied 14 points in the 70-50 win over Cedarville. HE grabbed a second best seven rebounds while dishing out two assists. Jackson connected with four long range buckets on seven attempts for a 57.1 percent showing from beyond the arc.

Starting the Season Off Right
The Zips are 72-46 (.610) all-time in season openers with a 58-12 (.829) home record and 14-34 (.292) on the road. Since the 2004-05, UA is 10-5 (.667) when opening the season, standing 7-1 (.875) at home, 3-4 (.429) on the road and 2-0 (1.000) under head coach John Groce. In addition, Akron owns a 97-21 (.822) home-opening record and 32-4 (.888) at Rhodes Arena. The Zips have been winners in the last 17-of-18 home opening games. Akron is 18-8 in MAC openers, 10-1 at home since joining the league in 1992. Over the last 15 seasons, the Zips are 11-4 in MAC openers and 7-1 at home. Akron has won the last 7-of-8 MAC openers.

Best Start to a Season
The 2015-16 Akron Zips started the season with a 3-0 winning streak. The three consecutive wins to open the season marks the best start in the Division I era of Akron men's basketball history. In addition, the 13-2 start was the best opening to a season in Akron basketball's Division I era, while the Zips win over the Arkansas Razorbacks marked the fifth consecutive season the Zips posted a win over a Power Five Conference opponent.

Home Sweet Home
Akron went 12-4 at Rhodes Arena in Groce's first year as head coach. He became the third Akron coach since 1940 to win his first six home games in the first season as head coach. The Zips rattled off seven straight wins at the JAR before falling in the MAC home opener to Buffalo. The Zips set the all-time longest home winning streak record at Rhodes Arena with 30 consecutive wins during the 2015-17 seasons, replacing the 26-game run the Zips made during the 1985-87 seasons under head coach Bob Huggins. The streak ranked No. 2 in the NCAA. In 34 seasons at the JAR, the Zips own a 394-124 (.761)all-time record, and in the last 14 seasons, Akron has posted a 187-30 (.862) record at the JAR.

Groce Debuts with a WIN
Zips' head coach John Groce has spent over two decades on the sidelines of a basketball court as a coach and enters his 11th season as the lead man, and secondt at Akron. On April 6, 2017, Groce was named the 22nd head coach in Akron Basketball history. On Nov. 11, 2017, Groce and the Zips accomplished something that has only been done 10 times in Akron's history, debuting a coaching career with a win. Akron defeated Cleveland State 67-57 in Groce's Akron coaching debut to become the first coach since the 1984-85 season to win their initial game.

In fact, the last coach to start his Akron career with a win was Bob Huggins during the 1984-85 season against Western Illinois, 64-57. Prior to Huggins, six coaches were unsuccessful in accomplishing that feat since Thomas Dowler did so in 1939-40 against Franklin, 34-25.

The LeBron James Shoe Deal and Nike Apparel
Since June 2008, the Akron men's basketball program has been partnered with Nike under which the Zips' shoes, game uniforms, warm ups and accessories are licensed under the Nike and LeBron James Trademarks.

The Zips are just one of three college programs in the country that are partnered with the LBJ line of Nike equipment, the others are Ohio State and Duquesne. Akron rocks six pairs of LBJ kicks in three different styles all customized to Akron Basketball.

The Akron Zips men's basketball team has six different uniforms, including four new looks for the 2018-19 season. Akron will continue to sport the grey set of uniforms modeled after the Team USA uniforms, which were new for 2017-18. The Grey uniforms feature the script Akron on the chest in blue outlined in the university gold. The numbers are depicted the same way which matches the blue piping that outlines the uniform. The shorts feature the Z-logo on both sides of the leg and are piped with the blue. Akron also had a new set of purple se uniforms last season that are worn as a tribute to former coach and director of operations Dan Peters.

For 2018-19, the Zips will showcase new home and away, whites and blues, with combinations that brings back the gold. Both sets feature the script Akron across the chest in gold with the white set accented by blue outlines and piping, while the blues are outlined in white.The pants feature the Z-Logo on one leg and script Akron on the opposite side. Also, the Roo-Head debuts on the waistband.Speaking of Gold, Akron's "Gold Standard" uniforms are back. Yes, Akron will be rockin gold uniforms once again. The Team USA inspired uniforms feature the script Akron in blue across the chest with the Roo-Head on the sides of the shorts. The waistband features the Z-Logo.

The final uniform is a Fear The Roo uniform that is anthracite (dark grey) as the base color. Those are all the details we can divulge at this time.

UP NEXT
Akron will return to James A. Rhodes Arena for their third game of the season against Chicago State on Friday, Nov. 10 at 7 p.m. The Zips will then depart for the Cayman Islands Basketball Classic on Saturday to play Clemson in Game 1 on Monday, Nov. 19 at 11 a.m. ET.